Ebony... At wits end :(

ghostie said:
Vet rolled her eyes at me and did it to humour me, and he had quite a bad case. All sorted now though :)
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^^^i hear you there.

OP sorry to hear about Ebony and i hope you get the situation resolved. It looks as though ulcers are alot more common than once thought, and can cause all sorts of problems. The reaction i got when i mentioned ulcers to my vet amoungst others was; 'he can't possibly have ulcers because he lives out 24/7, he is just a thin skinned sentative TB thats why he doesn't like being poked, he is skinny because he is a stress-head and he is just one of those horses that stay slim, he is spooky because he is a TB!'.

I think he has always had them but they got a lot worse after a session on bute and steriods for mud-fever, and then an intense worming session, as it was believed that worms were causing weight loss!

I took it upon myself to change his diet and feed things to sooth and coat the hindgut. When i introduced chamomile flowers and slippery elm he tucked into his feed straight away and finished the lot (something he was not doing before). I've now added a little wheat bran and he is loving his food, eating his hay (didnt want to before) and putting on good condition. No sensativity, great coat and less stressy, not so spooky!

I also reduced his hard feed by 2/3rds!!!! becuase the stomach is so small, feeding large quantities will cause it to pass straight through the stomach and then sit in the hindgut which can then cause hindgut acidisous (sp), messes up the bacteria and ulcers form.

good luck and i hope Ebony gets better soon.
 
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Hi all, just a quick update... Ebony is now on fast fibre, she was so picky over her other food that I just took the plunge and changed over and have been building up the amounts she has over the last few days, glad to say she is going mad for it and is gobbling it up... 3 meals a day going down her neck again thank god, she's still getting probiotic and a blood tonic (haemovite
 
Sorry Posted before I finishes writing!
Her energy levels are up a bit... She trotted across the yard today. her weight is stable, I hope it will start to creep upwards now she is eating again, she is still not liking her haylage but since she is loving grass and hard feed I feel a lot happier, vet spoke to Lab and ordered blood test on liver function and protein levels on Thursday morning so hopefully i should have the results on Monday. She is significantly brighter and the fact that I've found a good food I can get down her neck is fantastic. I will post again as soon as I know her blood test results :)
 
So glad to hear things are looking up. It must be good to see her having a little trot and enjoying her food. :)
 
Fiona when I put her back on ff I felt really mean because she hoovered it up and wanted more but I didn't want to overdo it lol now she is up to a 3 scoops a day before soaking in 3 meals, she had gone a bit paler too so this blood tonic has really helped, and yes my heart was bursting when she was trotting along on the end of her lead rope today, ears forward and alert :D she's out on grass now for a food munch and tea at about 6 tonight, I plan to leave her out tonight so she can munch as much grass as she can, it's now started to grow thank god! A couple more days of grass and an appetite like this and I will start to breathe a bit more lol x can't wait for the bloods to come back and see what they say but sooo happy she has stabilised for now x amymay: thank you for the idea of the tonic, I am sure that has helped put the spring back in her :)
 
Meg had something that sounds rather similar, back in February.

Have a search through my threads, you'll find it. Very similar symptoms.

It first presented as colic, which didn't get better after buscopan and she continued to lie down and look unwell. Tachycardic, fast resps, temp normal. Refusing to eat and drink.
In the end she was on warm bran mashes and Ready Grass, she wouldn't touch the haylege (something she was only ever allowed as a treat!)
We were told to keep her walking little and often so we shoved her on the lunge.
She's lost a lot of weight in a very short space of time. I remember riding her after her illness and she'd gone down 3 girth sizes!
She had peritoneal taps, stomach flushes, ultrasounds, countless bloods. In the end we tried two final things - a wormer and an I/M dose of Prednisolone, followed by a course of tablets.

We had diagnoses of Grass Sickness, colic, Cushings, worm burdens, etc...the list went on but we kept ticking them off.

If she hadn't picked up 48 hours after the IM injection we were to think the steroids didn't work. By God, she was a changed mare!
We still don't know what it was, all bloods done were inconclusive/normal, but we thing it was the steroids that helped.

Probably doesn't help as we don't know what it was, but here to help in any way if you need it :)
 
Been following her progress. Very pleased that things are improving.

I was going to suggest Equi-jewel. It's fed in small quantities, and 'fussy' eaters seem keen on it.

Fingers crossed she keeps improving!
 
Thank you all xx she is wolfing her tea down and eating grass tonight, she may not be out of the woods as she had a good appetite but continued to lose weight a few weeks ago but my god it's a start! I'll take what I can get! X will keep u posted ur all being so supportive and giving great ideas and suggestions thanks x
 
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